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After Hurricane Helene washed away her tea business, she's calmly working to rebuild

Nov 13, 2024
"It is going to take funding, and it is going to take a lot of support," says Jessie Dean, owner of Asheville Tea Co. in North Carolina.
Jessie Dean (second from right), owner of Asheville Tea Co., works with chrysanthemums harvested after the storm.
Courtesy Jessie Dean

Hurricane Helene ruined her business, but she finds hope in community and a PB&J

Nov 1, 2024
Hannah Burnisky, owner of Cold Mountain Art Collective, talks about how the hurricane destroyed her business and how she plans to rebuild.
Hannah Burnisky stands in front of her business, Cold Mountain Art Collective, before the water receded.
Courtesy Hannah Burnisky

More companies are adopting policies to support employees recovering from addiction

May 13, 2024
Nearly 50 million people in the U.S. have a substance use disorder, and most are in the workforce. Could employers take a bigger role in recovery?
Research shows that recovery-supportive workplace policies can reduce turnover costs, injuries, accidents and health care costs.
SDI Productions/Getty Images

Why are Ikea and Costco expanding as other retailers close stores and lay off staff?

Apr 21, 2023
Opening new stores may be a way for some retailers to position themselves for both a downturn and a recovery.
Someone who once shopped at Crate & Barrel may now feel more comfortable on an Ikea budget, which could partially explain the retailer's expansion plan.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images

In China's most locked-down city, business can resume but recovery is a long way off

Feb 21, 2023
The Chinese city of Ruili, on the border with Myanmar, has had more lockdowns than almost any other place in China.
A jade seller and two women stare at their cellphones in Ruili. Vendors are trickling back to the Jiegao jade market, but customers are few and far between.
Charles Zhang/Marketplace

Private equity investment is flooding into addiction treatment. Is that a good thing?

Jan 25, 2023
When a new operator took over an addiction treatment center in Nashville, former employees say they saw cutbacks.
Mitzi Dawn works in addiction treatment and spent part of her career as a songwriter. Her “Sing & Share” events were part of the offerings she says were cut when a private equity-backed company took over Nashville Recovery Center in 2021.
Blake Farmer/WPLN News

Medical respite provides a place for unhoused people to land after a hospital stay

Mar 30, 2022
A growing number of new facilities around the country are designed to give people experiencing homelessness a place to recover after they’ve been discharged from the hospital.
Kate Bradley, left, and Kelly Wallin are two live-in volunteers at the Bob Tavani House for Medical Respite in Duluth, Minnesota. Medical respite homes attempt to fill a gap in health care that people experiencing homelessness face across the country.
Dan Kraker

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Nashville's downtown is still recovering a year after a bombing rocked the area

Dec 24, 2021
The Christmas Day bombing impacted dozens of businesses. Some have relocated, while others are waiting for the city to rebuild.
Buildings damaged in the Christmas Day 2020 bombing stand on Second Avenue in downtown Nashville. Some businesses have relocated out of the district.
Damon Mitchell/WPLN News

Hurricane Ida flooded their basement apartment. Months later, they've barely begun to recover.

Nov 9, 2021
Many New York basement apartments flooded in September. Most of the hardest-hit residents were low-income, and most were immigrants.
People clean up their flooded homes in Queens, New York, after the remnants of Ida passed through the area. The storm hit undocumented immigrants particularly hard.
Spencer Platt via Getty Images

A few days in the life of a restaurant owner this spring

Jun 3, 2021
Business is booming — and that has brought a whole new set of challenges.
Pasta Louise has weathered the COVID-19 winter and is sticking around.
Marielle Segara/Marketplace